Steve Carell’s Take On His Career and the Characters He Plays

“A character doesn’t know whether they’re in a comedy or a drama.” – Steve Carell

Michael Scott will go down as one of the most beloved characters in modern television thanks to Steve Carell’s portrayal of the not-quite-that-bright-but-endearing boss on NBC’s hit The Office. Since clocking out of the sitcom, he’s gone on to do more comedies and made a shift in his career by taking on dramatic roles, such as his Oscar nominated part in Foxcatcher, as well as his latest film The Big Short.

He sat down with the NY Times to talk about his part alongside Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt, but also about how he wound up where he is today.

Whether or not it was comedy or drama, the 53-year-old actor said he didn’t really have a set game plan. “I didn’t set the bar very high for myself, I’ll be honest. I didn’t have a vision. I just wanted to be employed, and I was willing to do almost everything short of pornography to continue working as an actor. I know that’s a pretty horrible image.”

Carell also opened up about what kind of characters he loves to play. “I try not to play characters that ever have any self-awareness that their conviction is boneheaded,” he said. “And I think that can either be funny or dramatic. After all, a character doesn’t know whether they’re in a comedy or a drama.”

‘Phantom Thread’ Star Lesley Manville: “It’s so easy to make someone bad look good on film. In theatre, there’s no hiding place”

"Filming is different. You’re getting a moment right. You can go in and create something very good, very quickly. That’s a different challenge to having five, six weeks to rehearse a play.” - Lesley Manville